How to train your Dragoon?
British Light Dragoons and French Dragoons for Sharp Practice
No literary-inspired Napoleonic shenanigans would be complete without some Dragoons. Mounted up they play a bit like a one-shot wonder and I'd think carefully about using more than one group in a normal size game. But the threat of their movement range and potential damage in combat makes for some interesting command decisions on both sides. They can be used in loads of different scenarios. I quite like the idea of random arrival in the mid-game, possibly on the use of "flags" like Tabletop CP have done in some of their cracking AWI reports on the YouTube.
Dismounted, I feel they need some alternative rules. So I've tinkered away. I treat points as guidelines really (you can break any point-based system) but it seemed a bit much to count 6 dismounted Dragoons as the same as 8 of their mounted friends.
There are various accounts to give us pointers of what they did on foot, such as Badcock's memoirs and Vandaleur's rules (?) for Light Dragoons on campaign. (OK, need to find some French sources.) Vedettes, scouting, foraging, escorting. Actually they are perfect soldiers for SP2.
One group on foot (6) plus a low-ranking leader makes for a handy extra unit in multi-player games. I tend to rate them simply as skirmishers with carbines to make them less effective than good quality "light" troops. I sometimes sprinkle in "sharp practice", "good/poor shots" or "aggressive" to alter their potency. Depending on the scenario they might have a prominent leader if they are reluctant to stick around.
All the models here are Perry plastics except the British dismounted troops which are Perry metal (and rather nice.)
British Light Dragoons
The troop from the 14th Light Dragoons has been posted before. But I wanted a leader on foot. I looked at Perry's dismounted officer group from the Egypt campaign but looking in the bits box I had some spare plastic legs, torso, arms and heads. The resulting kit-bash works for me and saved some cash for another project. So here is the dashing Lieutenant Shattenkirk (soon to be renamed Badcock.) I say dashing, but so far he's either failed to arrive, got lost on a clearly marked road, been shot up the backside or been massacred. Not a great record.
I gave him a lighter coloured coat to the troopers - not sure that's particularly historical but to identify him. He seems quite short without the massive Tarleton on his head.
Shattenkirk surveys a local well. He later misinterpreted orders and leapt into it.
This made it harder for the troopers to follow his commands.
French 15th Dragoons
These chaps have rather fetching rose-pink facings and were recorded with green collars. I've missed some details so I'll go back over these but they are tabletop-ready. For the first time in ages the painting seemed more like a chore than a pleasure!
They are led by the massive moustache of Capitaine De Rigeur, a man who desperately seeks some white cloth to make proper trousers for his troopers. De Rigeur attended Brienne school with Napoleon and was twice nominated for turnip of the month. He's another kit-bash to create a dismounted leader.
Citadel contrast black and white came in handy on this model. The dark green and pink were not so good, so returned to acrylics for that.
Nemeses?
The leaders on foot.
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